Former Los Angeles City councilman Richard Alarcon in superior court Tuesday, July 7, 2014. Alarcon and his wife, Flora Montes de Oca Alarcon are charged with perjury and voter fraud over residency while Alarcon was in office. ( Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News )

Former Los Angeles city controller Wendy Greuel took the stand in the perjury and voter fraud trial of former Councilman Richard Alarcón and his wife on Tuesday, telling jurors Alarcón asked her to change the city’s council boundaries so their Sun Valley house would fall within his district.

Alarcón and his wife, Flora Montes de Oca Alarcón, are accused of living in Sun Valley between 2006-2009, outside of District 7 and in violation of city laws requiring candidates and council members to make their primary residence within district boundaries.

The Alarcóns maintain they were doing remodels on their Panorama City house, which is in District 7, and only temporarily living in Sun Valley. That Panorama City residence is in Council District 2, which was represented by Greuel, who was serving on the City Council at the time.

The Alarcóns face more than 20 counts in the case, which went to trial last month.

A witness for the prosecution, Greuel testified that Alarcón, her then-colleague on the City Council, called her in 2007 and asked her to move the boundaries to put Flora’s house on Sheldon Street in Sun Valley in District 7. Greuel consulted with her staff on the move, which would have affected about 200 houses, she said.

Greuel told the court Alarcón said the council district boundaries had been moved before. He cited how the lines were redrawn to accommodate Antonio Villaraigosa when he served on the City Council, Greuel said.

Greuel decided against the move, she told jurors, because it would break up the Stonehurst community, which was in her district. Later, that area was designated a historical preservation zone.

“Ultimately, I told council member Alarcón that I didn’t feel comfortable moving the boundaries,” Greuel said.

By calling Greuel to testify, the prosecution appeared to be seeking to bolster their core argument: That the Alarcóns preferred to live at the Sun Valley house, rather than in Panorama City.

In his cross-examination of Greuel, Richard Alarcon’s attorney Richard Lasting suggested it wasn’t uncommon for council members to change boundaries. The city council had at least on two occasions reshaped district lines for council members, Lasting told the court.

The attorney also presented Greuel with a verbal motion he said she made in 2006, which showed that she sought to move boundaries of two districts.

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Lasting told jurors the change was made to accommodate the home of City Councilman Tom LaBonge, who lived in District 4.

“I don’t remember making the verbal motion,” Greuel replied.

Deputy District Attorney Michele Gilmer sought to cast doubt on the assertion that Greuel moved the boundaries at LaBonge’s request. The name “Tom LaBonge” didn’t appear on the city documents Lasting presented to Greuel, Gilmer said.

A Daily News review of the council file believed to be referenced during Tuesday’s hearing shows that the district change inserted a section of LaBonge’s District 4 into District 13, not the other way around. The council file also states the line change was adjusted because of a redistricting issue.

In an interview Tuesday evening, LaBonge confirmed that there was never a council district change related to his residence.

“That is an untruthful thing,” LaBonge said of the argument by Alarcón’s legal team.

Lasting conceded in an interview Tuesday night that he “misread” the ordinance he presented in court earlier that day.

Greuel, who ran unsuccessfully for Congressional District 33 this year and Los Angeles mayor last year, wasn’t the only high-profile politician to testify Tuesday.

Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, a former council aide to Alarcón, also took the stand for the prosecution.

While working as a planning deputy for Alarcon in 2007, Bocanegra said he met with a land-use consultant about a zone change for the Panorama City property, part of a proposal to develop the site into multi-use residential units. Gilmer has previously suggested to the jury that the Alarcóns wanted to develop the Panorama City site.

Bocanegra also was asked about whether there was media publicity about Alarcon’s residency in 2007.

“I think it was an area of concern for the staff, yes,” Bocanegra.

Bocanegra was elected to the Assembly in 2012, beating Alarcón, who faced negative media stories amid the District Attorney’s investigation into his residency.

The defense is expected to begin its case Friday. The trial will likely conclude next week and the case sent to the jury.